The present invention pertains to the field of art involving footwear, shoes and interchangeable shoe slings or straps, and more particularly to a shoe sling or strap that is not dependent upon a specially designed shoe. The present invention relates to a substantially universal shoe sling in that it may be employed with many conventional shoe designs, and is not dependent upon special shoe design.
Certain footwear, and particularly a women's slip-on type of shoe, having no rear upper portions thereto, and sometimes colloquially referred to as a "mule", can become very unstable depending on the condition of the walking surface and the activities engaged in by the wearer.
It is well known that shoe straps attached to the shoe may provided added support for the wearer. However, permanently attached straps necessarily alter the style and appearance of the shoe, and this may be undesirable.
Heretofore, numerous efforts have been made to develop removable and interchangeable straps for shoes and other footwear. However, these efforts have been directed to ornamental and style considerations, rather than support and stability considerations. The following patents disclose such devices: U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,984 to Roy; U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,147 to Chiu; U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,214 to Wang; U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,649 to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,102 to DeVincentis. Each of the footwear disclosed in these patents require a specially designed sole, upper and/or strap. Thus, if one desired the advantage of interchangeability that these devices provide, the specially designed soles, uppers and/or straps must be utilized. Such specially designed footwear components necessarily increased the manufacturing costs and resulting costs to consumer.